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Drunk Trucker Lies About Being Taken Hostage

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CANONYVILLE, Ore. (CBS Seattle) – A truck driver thought to be involved in a hostage situation was found unharmed by police not long after his predicament was reported.

However, upon finding the man, authorities quickly discovered that he had made the story up because he was too drunk to drive.

The ordeal began on Wednesday, when 33-year-old trucker Thomas James Conner sent a text message to his supervisor that said he was being held hostage, The Oregonian reported.

Conner, of Bellingham, allegedly went into further detail by saying that two armed men robbed him of the keys to the truck, and told him to remain with it until they returned to take it, as well as the berries inside.

His supervisor immediately contacted the authorities, and the Roseburg Area Command Office dispatched troopers to Interstate 5 to find him.

But when authorities contacted Conner themselves, they reportedly got a different story about what had transpired, as he was unable to keep the details of the story straight.

Eventually, Conner – and another person – were found wandering near Canonyville, not far from the truck, which had been abandoned on the side of the road with the hood up and the emergency lights on.

Troopers told the Oregonian that Conner and the other person, who was riding along with Conner as an unauthorized passenger, were both too inebriated to continue driving. Rather than confess to their state, they concocted the lie about being held hostage.

Conner was reportedly arrested and taken to Douglas County Jail. The other man was free to go.